Wild in Arizona just posted a wildflower forecast for Arizona as of January 6, 2014:
The Desert is GREEN. The last time we had a above normal rainfall year was 2009/2010 and that was a good year. November 2013 we had 1-3″ and .5-1″ in December. Take a look at exact locations at http://rainlog.org/usprn/html/main/maps.jsp place in the month you want for accurate location readings. Unfortunately the rain has stopped and we will need some sprinkles to keep everything going.The Farmer’s Almanac is calling for average rainfall for the southwest for the next two months: http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/region/us/14.
“Average” for us in this drought, though, could mean great things!! I have Poppy sprouts up in my test area and Desert Marigolds blooming along roadsides in the lower desert now. So at this point I am predicting a OK Annuals and GOOD Perennial/Cactus/Tree year. The brittlebush at Gonzales Pass are looking very good for a 2010 like bloom. “Everyone keep doing their rain dance!”
See photos and older posts at: Wild in Arizona.
Natural History Wanderings 
I recently looked up the rainfall for Tucson, Arizona and found they had almost twice as much rain in 2013 as San Francisco…..
LikeLike
By: John Wall on January 6, 2014
at 4:55 PM
The drought is getting down right scary. Not only are there the threats to wildlife, native habitats, farms and food supply, and gardens, but even winter wildfires. See ‘Unprecedented’ winter wildfires in far Northern California in today’s San Franciso Chronicle.
LikeLike
By: Sandy Steinman on January 6, 2014
at 10:57 PM